Amazon Must Let Staff Use Workspaces for Organizing, US Labor Officials Say

[BumRushDaShow]

7. Apparently the warehouse facilities themselves

Internal Amazon documents show new policy barring employees from warehouses during off hours, a change that could hamper union organizing


Katherine Long and Ashley Stewart
Jul 1, 2022, 1:47 PM EDT



Amazon has a new policy barring warehouse employees from entering company buildings or working facilities while off-duty, according to an internal notification viewed by Insider.

The change bars Amazon operations employees from entering buildings or any exterior working areas, according to internal documents. Employees are not permitted to access the areas during days off or before or after scheduled shifts. The policy requires employees "exit the workplace within a reasonable timeframe after punching out" and "contact site leadership to explore potential solutions" even to access the facility briefly, such as to retrieve an item or speak to a manager. It does not apply to those who work in Amazon's physical stores.

The new policy could have a chilling effect on union organizing activity at Amazon, labor leaders and experts told Insider. Christian Smalls, the president of the Amazon Labor Union, said that having access to Amazon facilities during off-hours was crucial to the success of the ALU's organizing effort at the Staten Island warehouse known as JFK8. Smalls said he sees this change as another "union busting" tactic from Amazon to limit employee interaction.

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Amazon had previously prohibited workers from being on-site until within 15 minutes before and after their shifts. In December, the company entered into a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency that oversees union organizing activity, ending that previous policy. The company had wielded its on-site policy as a way of quashing union organizing activity, employees and labor leaders said in the six NLRB complaints that resulted in the settlement. Amazon cited the policy when it forced employees who were handing out union literature off warehouses premises, the complaints said.

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https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-warehouse-union-policy-access-off-hours-jfk8-organizing-2022-7